This invention relates primarily to live or electronic video keno games, and more particularly to live or electronic video keno games that allow the player to play his keno ticket multiple times on the same round of the game.
Keno is a well known game and has been played in gaming establishments for many years. In conventional keno, there are eighty numbers in the pool of numbers that may be drawn in any one round of the game. In the typical keno game, eighty keno balls are numbered 1 through 80 and are placed in a air blower device that circulates the keno balls. Twenty of the eighty keno balls are selected each game.
Each player marks a keno ticket that is an 10.times.8 matrix having ten columns and eight rows. The keno numbers from one through eighty are printed on the keno ticket with each number having its own numbered spot. Prior to the start of a round of the keno game, a player selects between one and fifteen numbered spots that the player thinks will be drawn during the game. Typically a player uses a crayon-like pencil to mark the numbered spots he wishes to play on his keno ticket and the player takes his marked keno ticket to a keno station. The player makes an appropriate wager and turns in his marked keno ticket and the money at the keno station. The player receives back a stamped and receipted ticket showing the amount of the player's wager and the numbered spots that the player has selected.
The keno game operator then proceeds to draw twenty numbers from the eighty keno balls. Depending on the number of matches or "Hits" between the twenty numbers drawn and the numbered spots selected by the player, the player wins or loses. The more numbers that match, the higher the payoff to the player. In keno, unlike in bingo which is a related number drawing game, there is no requirement that the numbers that are drawn must appear in certain patterns on the keno ticket. However in keno, also unlike bingo in which numbers are drawn until a winner occurs, only twenty numbers are drawn in each round of a keno game so there is no guarantee that any player will win during each round of the keno game. But there can also be multiple winners in any round of the keno game.
In a live keno game, multiple players participate each game and no players may win, some players may win or all players may win. In traditional live keno, players may select between one and fifteen numbers and wagers can range from as little as 35.cent. a game to $5, $10 or even higher dollars per game. Typically each establishment operating a keno game will provide a group of keno payout charts or keno pay tables showing the amount that it is possible for the player to win based on the amount wagered, the number of numbered spots selected by the player and the number of "Hits" achieved by the player when the twenty keno balls are selected.
For example, if the player wagers $1 and selects one number, the player will typically win $3 if his selected numbered spot is one of the twenty numbered keno balls drawn during the play of the game. Similarly, if the player selects fifteen numbers, the player will typically be paid if anywhere between a total of eight and fifteen of his numbered spots match the twenty numbered keno balls drawn. The highest payout will be made for matching fifteen out of fifteen, with lower payouts made for matching fourteen out of fifteen, thirteen out of fifteen and so on down to eight out of fifteen. Any matches of seven or less are typically losing plays. Similar payout schemes are provided when the player marks between one and fifteen numbered spots during any round of a keno game.
When the player plays an electronic video keno gaming machine, a single player plays against the keno gaming machine for each round of the game and the player either wins or loses each round. The player wagers one or more coins, tokens or credits and selects the number of numbered spots that the player is attempting to match during that round of the game.
All eighty numbers are displayed on a video screen with a 10.times.8 matrix keno display similar to that of a keno ticket. The numbers are selected by the player using by a light pen, or by pressing the numbers on a selection panel or by touching the numbers selected using conventional touch screen technology.
In the typical electronic keno format, the player may select between one and ten numbered spots to attempt to match. After the player has completed selecting the numbered spots that the player wishes to match and has made the appropriate wager, the player presses the "Start" button. This causes the electronic controls of the gaming machine to randomly select twenty numbers from the pool of eighty numbers and the selected numbers are displayed to the player. The electronic controls of the gaming machine determine whether the player has achieved a winning payout at the conclusion of each round of the game. Just as in live keno, the player wins when he matches all or a predetermined minimum number of his selected numbered spots. If the player matches less than the predetermined minimum number of his selected numbered spots, then the player loses his wager. Payouts are made by accruing credits on the credit meter of the gaming machine or dispensing coins or tokens into a payout tray.
One variation of keno that is available on certain electronic keno gaming machines is what is known as "FOUR CARD" keno. In this variation, the player is presented with four keno ticket displays: an "A" game, a "B" game, a "C" game and a "D" game. The player may wager the same or different amounts on each game up to the maximum amount allowed by the gaming machine, say one to four credits on each game. The player then selects the quantity of numbered spots to be played on each game and the player marks the particular numbered spots which the player wishes to play in each game. The player can mark the same numbered spots or different numbered spots or overlapping numbered spots in each of the "A" game, the "B" game, the "C" game and the "D" game. One group of twenty keno balls are drawn applicable to all four games and winning and losing plays are determined.
One well known variation of keno is the use of what is known as a "way" ticket. "Way" tickets can be played in live keno games and some electronic video keno gaming machines have been configured to allow preselected "way" tickets to be played. On a "way" ticket, a player selects groups of numbered spots to be played simultaneously on the same ticket for a particular game of keno.
For example, the player marks group A of three numbered spots, group B of three numbered spots and group C of three numbered spots. If the player then designates the keno ticket as a "seven-way" ticket, the player has made seven separate wagers on this single ticket: wager 1 is a three-spot wager of the numbered spots in group A, wager 2 is a three-spot wager of the numbered spots in group B, wager 3 is a three-spot wager of the numbered spots in group C, wager 4 is a six-spot wager of the numbered spots in groups A and B, wager 5 is a six-spot wager of the numbered spots in groups A and C, wager 6 is a six-spot wager of the numbered spots in groups B and C and wager 7 is a nine-spot wager of the numbered spots in groups A, B and C. The total amount wagered by the player on this "way" ticket is allocated one-seventh to each wager. A single group of twenty keno numbers is drawn and winning and losing wagers are determined. This "seven-way" ticket can be played in a live keno game and is also one of the preselected "way" tickets that is available on certain electronic video keno gaming machines.
The variations of "way" tickets are innumerable. For example, a player can play a "three-way" ticket of a five-spot, a six-spot and a seven-spot for a total of three wagers. The five "A" spots form the five-spot wager, a "B" spot combines with the five "A" spots to form the six-spot ticket and a "C" spot combines with the five "A" spots and the "B" spot to form a seven-spot ticket. Again, a single group of twenty keno numbers is drawn and winning and losing wagers are determined. This "three-way" ticket can be played in a live keno game and is also one of the preselected "way" tickets that is available on certain electronic video keno gaming machines.
The only limitation on the number of "ways" that a player may create on a keno ticket is the imagination and creativity of the player as well as the player's bankroll. Once a player has marked his keno ticket and selected the various numbered spot groupings that form the various "ways" that the player wishes to play, a single draw of keno numbers is made for that play of the game and winning and losing wagers are determined. Each "way" on a "way" ticker requires the player to make a separate wager.
The basic principles of the play of keno are set out in Scarne's New Complete Guide to Gambling, by John Scarne, at pages 490-499.
Many gaming establishments offer a series of multiple keno games in which the player marks a single keno ticket with his selected numbers and plays the same numbers over a consecutive series of games. For example, the player can wager $100.00 for one hundred consecutive keno games. Each individual game carries a wager of $1.00 and the player plays the same numbers for one hundred consecutive games. The results of these one hundred games are accrued by the gaming establishment, normally using a computer memory, and the player is paid any accumulated payouts at the end of the one hundred games. These consecutive multiple games go by various names, such as race horse keno, at various casinos.
None of these prior methods of keno have considered allowing the player to divide the numbered spots on the keno ticket into sections. If the numbered spots on the keno ticket were divided into sections, then the player could play two or more keno games consecutively and the player could be provided with additional payouts for having the various sections of each selected numbered spot on the keno ticket being drawn in multiple draws of the selected keno numbers. In addition to the conventional keno payouts, the player could be paid additional payouts for matching two, three or more sections of selected numbered spots over the course of multiple draws.
The use of multiple sections on each numbered spot would also allow the player to play different groups of numbered spots on the same keno ticket over the course of multiple draws. A disadvantage of conventional Keno is that the pace of the game can be quite slow and, by providing for multiple draws of the selected keno numbers to be played on the same keno ticket, the revenue generated by keno can be increased. Player appeal can also be improved by providing the additional payouts for matching two, three or more section of each numbered spot over the course of multiple games.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved keno ticket and an improved keno game that allows multiple plays on the same keno ticket with an increase in revenue to the gaming establishment and an increase in game appeal to the player.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a keno ticket with each numbered spot being divided into two, three or more sections. This allows the player to select one or more numbered spots and to receive additional payouts if two, three or more sections of the selected numbered spots are drawn over the course of multiple games. This also allows the player, alternatively, to select only certain sections of each numbered spot so that the player can play different numbered spots on the same keno ticker over the course of multiple draws of the selected keno numbers.
It is an advantage of the present invention that the play of keno will be speeded up thus increasing the revenue to the gaming establishment and that additional payout opportunities will be provided to the player thus improving the appeal of the game to the player.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.